


White

by SimplyUndead



Series: Color [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Dean Winchester, Big Brother Dean, Boys Kissing, Comforting Dean, Dean Comforts Castiel, Dean comforts Sam, Destiel - Freeform, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Human Castiel, Hunter Castiel, Kissing, M/M, Platonic Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester, Surprise Kissing, castiel comforts sam, hunter trio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-15 20:55:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5799874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyUndead/pseuds/SimplyUndead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean can't be found. Sam is going crazy. Cas is getting worried. Once Dean is found, nothing is the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	White

**Author's Note:**

> prompt by WinchesterGirl14 on Supernatural Amino.
> 
> I didn't edit this because I'm lazy. Sorry for errors.

Sam woke up and looked around quickly, trying and failing to spot Dean. Hope fizzled out of his chest and he fell back against the uncomfortable hotel bed. Sam was unbelievably worried and it was slowly eating at him.

Castiel was next to wake up, being pulled from sleep by Sam's groans and sighs. He sighed and looked at the man's blanketed form with sympathy. He, too, was worried for a certain green-eyed man, but he was much more calm and collected. Or at least that's what he showed to comfort Sam. He had to be strong for the other man.

Dean had been missing for about three weeks now. No clues or tracks left behind. He seemingly vanished into thin air over night. And it was getting to his brother.

Sam was a tough hunter. He could deal with just about anything and has. But he had never lost his brother before and it was taking a toll on him. He had trouble sleeping and wouldn't leave the little town in Maine where they'd been staying lest Dean would not be able to find them. He only ever slept in the right side of the bed, not daring to roll over, in case Dean returned and needed a place to sleep. And food wasn't something that he cared too much about, only eating when Castiel forced him.

Of course Dean's absence was pressing down on the blue-eyed man. He was worried and scared and missed the other man, but Sam needed to be cared for and Castiel knew that wherever Dean was, he'd want his baby brother to be safe and protected. Besides, the Winchester just looked and acted so sad and pitiful and Cas had hunted with the brothers for so long that they were basically family. Sam was his little brother, too.

Castiel rose from his bed and shuffled to the one beside his. He crawled in on the left side, murmuring an apology for resting on Dean's side. He pulled the covers over his bare legs and looked to Sam.

"He's okay." Castiel said softly. Sam nodded and sighed. This was a usual occurrence. The blue-eyed man would crawl into his bed and comfort him. Sam felt kind of babyish, being a fully grown man and getting comforted, but he needed it and was thankful nonetheless.

"Do you think he left?" Sam mumbled, eyes peeking out from behind the quilts.

"No. I don't." Castiel said and made eye contact with the man."You know what I think? I think that Dean got tied up somewhere and he's just looking for a way to get back. He's okay, Sam. Just a little caught up."

Sam nodded and smiled. Ignorance is bliss and it felt a lot better than hurting.

"Alright," Cas said and sat up. "I know that we're going through a rough patch, but we're in the middle of a case. I'm gonna go pay a visit to that witness across town. You do some more research, yeah? Get your mind off of it."

"Yeah, I'll get to it." Sam said with a blatantly false smile, but Castiel wasn't going to push it. He knew that the Winchester needed to do something other than mope and spending an ample amount of time scrolling through various articles about monsters would have to suffice. Maybe he'd take the brown-haired man out to a movie later.

He showered quickly and suited up, pulling a tan trenchcoat over his shoulders. He said a farewell to Sam and walked out the door, leaving the man to his laptop and books.

Hours were spent this way, Sam studying and Castiel trying to gather information from witnesses and coroners. He finally tired of this and called it a day, picking up some burgers from a locally owned diner for Sam and himself.

"Hey, Sam, I'm back with food. Let's get something in you, yeah?" The blue-irised hunter said, dropping a greasy bag onto the hotel table, shrugging his trenchcoat and suit coat off. He sat down and rolled his white sleeves up, glancing warily at the slient hunter.

"Sam? You okay in there?" He asked, snapping his fingers in front of Sam's face, but to no avail. He seemed distant, deep in thought, staring down at his dad's old journel, possibly not even hearing Castiel. And he hated to do it, to use the nickname that was reserved for Dean and only Dean, but Cas was growing worried. He sighed.

"Sammy?" He asked quietly, feeling awful when the hunter's head snapped up, eyes glowing hopefully.

"Oh." He let out in a breath of defeat, eyebrows furrowing, before speaking angrily. "Don't call me that." Cas nodded and smiled, glad to see a little bit of emotion.

"Sorry. So, any luck with the research?"

"I think Dean left us this."

Silence. That was all that could be heard throughout the room. Dead silence. Serious silence. Shocked silence. About any type of silence you could possibly hear.

"What?"

And then it was broken.

"What do you even mean? What the hell?" Castiel asked, completely and utterly confused.

"Okay, so, look at this." Sam said, sliding his dad's old journal in front of the hunter opposite him. On a blank page near the back was an odd, unfamiliar symbol, unknown to either hunter. It looked to be a letter 'Z' with two lines drawn straight down through it, almost like an American money symbol.

"Okay, I'm still not following. You think Dean wrote this?" Castiel asked, fingers trailing the pen-etched paper, the blue ink firmly scrawled across the page.

"I'm almost one hundred percent sure. Look, I know Dean's writing. I've loved with him all my life. And I also know Dad's journal from cover to cover. I've read it through a hundred times or more. This symbol has never been in here." Sam ranted, matter-of-factly. He knew this was from Dean. He knew it. Cas sighed and nodded, giving in to the absurdity of it. He figures that Sam knew what he was talking about and he'd go with anything as long as it would get the trio back together.

"Alright. Okay, I believe you. Now, what is this symbol? Why is it here?" The raven-haired hunter asked, still studying the foreign marking. Sam nodded and turned his laptop for both to see.

"Right, so, I started researching it. Now, I didn't find much because it's not common or just not recorded, but check this." The brown-haired man spoke, placing his index finger on a passage. "It seems to be a symbol of an angel. A particularly legendary angel, one that was a warrior to demons and protecter of humans, especially prophets. Possibly an archangel. His name is Zephaniah."

"Interesting. I don't understand why Dean would leave us this, though." Castiel said, eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"That's what I've been thinking. All I can gather is that maybe this Zephaniah took Dean or maybe Dean went looking for him?" Sam asked to no one in particular, letting the question hang in the air unanswered.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to do some more research. In the meantime, let's eat." Castiel said, pulling out the now mildly warn burgers. He shrugged and began unwrpaping the food.

"How can you eat at a time like this?" Sam asked in disbelief, leaving his burger untouched.

"Easily," Cas grinned, taking a rather large bite from his cheeseburger. "With my mouth. Now, eat."

\---

The next day was much the same as yesterday. Sam researched about Zephaniah and the symbol, never getting much. Castiel worked the case and brought home food, which he then had to force the other to eat after he would claim to be too busy.

It wasn't until about a week later, when Sam had taken the symbol along with his questions to a professional, a professor about a state over and loosened his load, claiming only to be curious after stumbling upon this symbol during late night browsing. Then was when Sam finally got some answers.

The professor didn't have much information and mostly told Sam what he already knew, but there were a few things he learned. Zephaniah had fallen because of his love for humanity, but it was prophesized that he would one day return to heaven in the humanly body he had fallen to be.

About four hours later, Sam returned to the hotel around midnight, wide awake with news. Castiel, on the other hand, was asleep on his bed, still fully dressed from his day of working a case. Sam shook him awake with no empathy, but excitement.

"What?" Cas groaned, slapping the hunter away and burrowing his head into the pillow.

"You'll never believe what I found out." Sam said, shaking him again.

"I don't care." Castiel said sleepily, muffled by the pillow, possibly saying 'I do cake,' but Sam opted for the former.

"It's about Dean." The Winchester said, contemplating punching the man in the face. He knew that Cas liked to sleep, but damm it, this was important.

"Ugh, fine." Castiel said and sat up, rubbing his eyes before swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing up. "What do you got?"

Sam began talking avidly, showing the blue-eyed man his notes and pointing at the symbol.

"Basically, Zephaniah fell from heaven and lost his grace and stuff, but was supposed to return at some point. I think it's a lot like that case we worked in Ohio with Anna Milton, remember? Maybe that happened to Dean?" Sam rambled. Castiel struggled to keep up, processing everything a bit late as his brain was still muddled with sleep.

"I, uh, yeah. That sounds possible. So, what are going to do? If he is in heaven, how the hell do we get him down?" Castiel asked.

"Hopefully by praying to him." Sam answered.

"Worth a shot." Cas said, shrugging. "So, you going first?" He didn't really know how to go about this. He never prayed to God as a child, and though this was different, he didn't really know what to do.

"Yeah, I'll start." The Winchester asked and closed his eyes. He bowed his head and started talking.

"Dean? Or maybe you prefer Zephaniah? Anyway, I could really use your company right now. You've been gone for over a month and I'm really starting to miss my big brother. We've been looking all over for you, Dean. Please, please, come down?" Sam asked, voice breaking at the end. He'd always had his big brother to help him, through thick an thin. And while Cas felt like a brother, it wasn't the same. Sam needed Dean. Always had and probably always would.

"Your turn." He whispered to Cas, looking up. The hunter nodded and chewed his lip.

"Right, um. Dean? If you're up there it'd be nice if you could tune in. It's me, Cas. If you're not too busy, we need you. Sam needs you. I need you. We miss you, Dean." Castiel finished, tearing up a bit himself, but he quickly brushed them away. He needed to be strong. For Sam. For himself.

They waited. In complete silence. Their breaths held in their chest. No words. No sounds. No anything.

And then they heard it. A gentle flapping that grew louder. Their eyes darted around the room and landed on a very obvious angel. Their eyes landed in Dean.

Both hunters stood and rushed to meet the third. He was dressed in all white, from head to toe. His hair was such a light brown that it too almost look like frosted milk. There was a glow about him, pure white as well, letting off snowy light from around his figure.

Sam spoke first.

"Dean?" He gasped and immediately threw his arms around the man - or well, angel. He pain no mind to the huge ivory wings, fluffy as clouds and soft as a grandmother's linens.

"That is my earthly name." He said, and he spoke with such a voice that was deep but smooth. His words were formed with thought and care. "My heavenly name is Zephaniah."

"We know. I spent about a week researching." Sam said, releasing his brother.

"You're such a nerd." Dean spoke with a chuckle, and he really sounded like Dean now. Not an angel.

"Dean, what happened? I mean, you're an angel or a human or a vessel? What's going on?" Castiel asked.

"It's a very interesting story. Zephaniah fell from heaven centuries ago, but was always meant to return once he learned his lessen. Not to put humanity before Heaven. He took place as Dean Winchester and now he's back in heaven.

"They took me one night. To heaven, I mean. And they told me everything and put me through training and whatnot. An angel by the name of Naomi tought me the ways and rules of an angel.

"I knew, though, that you two would wonder about my disappearance, so I returned to Earth and very quickly drew my name in John's journal. You found it and here I am." He finished his little speech. Sam was upset and Castiel and Dean both could tell. The hunger was holding back tears and chewed his lip. His eyes looked sad and his face grave.

"So, you're an angel, now? You live in heaven?" Castiel asked, a question that both he and Sam shared.

"Yes." Dean said with a curt nod. Sam swallowed.

"You're not really my brother anymore, then? You're not really Dean." Sam asked. Dean hesitated.

"Yes, and no. Dean is still you're brother and in a way, I am Dean, but I am also an angel of the lord." The angel spoke.

"I'm never going to see you again, though?" The hunter asked, tears now flowing freely down his cheeks like rain. Dean moved to wipe them away.

"No, Sammy, that's not the case. You can pray for me anytime you'd like and I swear I'll be here. You just call and I'll come, okay?" Dean said, hushing his fears and pulling him into a hug. Sam was his little brother even if he was now an angel with heavenly duties.

Sam sniffled and nodded, drying his eyes and backing away. Dean approached Castiel, who too was softly crying. After all both boys had been through, and now having to lose yet another person. Dean was family. And now he would be in heaven, forever busy with unearthly things.

"Hey, Cas." He said softly, looking at the crying hunter. Castiel swallowed thickly and coughed, trying to mask his emotions, though failing miserably.

"So, you're an angel, now, huh?" He asked, a sad chuckle escaping his parted lips.

"Yeah. I am." Dean said with a nod. He placed his hand on the hunter's shoulder and suddenly they were no longer in the hotel anymore. As Cas looked around, he found that they were located just outside the hotel in the damp parking lot.

"I guess those wings come in handy?" Castiel said in dismay, staring at their beauty nevertheless. They really were beautiful. Big and white with a million feathers. They looked to be softer than silk. Castiel bet they felt like heaven. Literally.

"You can touch them if you'd like." Dean hummed quietly, fluttering them softly as he did so, creating wind they blew onto the hunter's face. Castiel noted that they smelled of honey and sugar.

"You don't care?" He asked, hesitantly reaching a hand out. Dean shook his head and moved his wings to meet Castiel's hand. The blue-eyed man sucked in a breath of air when we felt them. He'd never felt anything so soft or warm in his life.

He was so amazed by them that he felt worlds away, possibly in the cosmos surrounded by stars and black holes, supernovas and nebulas, but he wasn't. His feet we're planted firmly on Earth's surface, his hand fisting at the snowy feathers, clutching Dean to Earth.

"They're beautiful." He whispered, before blinking rapidly and snapping out of his daydream. He coughed to cut the silence.

The angel made eye contact with the hunter and spoke, "I need you to look after Sammy for me. I'll visit frequently, but never frequently enough. Will you take care of him?"

"Of course." Castiel said, noticing how Dean seemed saddened. "He's my brother, too, Dean. Close enough, anyway." The green-eyed angel nodded, but didn't speak.

"You don't have to go, Dean. We can find a way to get you out of it. You can stay with Sam and I. We can be a family again." Castiel said quickly, quietly, whispering. Dean's eyes glazed over with tears, but he never let them fall.

"I wish it were that easy, Cas. I do, but I'm an angel now and I have a duty to heaven. I'll visit whenever I get the chance. I'll always be watching over you." Dean said sadly.

And then Cas lost it. The levee had broken and tears were rushing down his face. Sobs racked through his body and he fell to his knees, his bones hitting the concrete painfully. He paid no mind to the physical damage, but the emotional damage. He loved Dean and this wasn't fair. Nothing about his life or Sam's life or life in general was fair and it all just sucked.

With tears on his cheeks and pain in his heart, he felt two strong arms wrap around his shaking form, pulling him up effortlessly. Castiel was pulled into the angel's chest, face pressed into the silky, white fabric.

"Shh, Cas. Please, don't cry." Dean said, running a hand through the tousled black hair. "Listen, I know it's tough, but I'll come at the sound of my name for you and Sam. Just say my name and I'm here, okay?"

Cas sniffled and pulled back, hand still placed on his angel's chest, the soft garment underneath. Dean wiped away the tear stains on the hunter's splotchy cheeks.

"I'm always here." He said and tapped Castiel's chest, right over his heart, feeling it speed up increasingly.

"Okay." The blue-eyed man whispered, feeling emotionally drained and tired. It had been a long few weeks. Dean said nothing else, and Cas began to think he'd left just how he'd came, into thin air. But, when he looked up, a pair of smooth, yet firm lips were pressed against his own and soft wings encased him.

It didn't escalate or get heated, it was simple and gentle, mouths gingerly placed together, pressing softly. Castiel's lungs were in desperate need of oxygen, but he couldn't figure out how to breath with this weight on his mouth and if it weren't for the pearly wings holding him up, he would've buckled at the knees.

Dean pulled away with a kind smile placed on his lips, wings recoiling into place behind him, leaving Castiel shocked and in a stupor. His mouth opened and closed multiple times, resembling a fish, before he finally managed to form words.

"But... You're an angel?" Castiel asked dumbly, taking in the absurdity of an angel of the lord participating in homosexual affairs. Dean just chuckled and shook his head.

"Did you not listen to the story, Cas?" The angel asked, cocking his head to the side. Castiel blinked twice, emitting another guffaw from Dean.

"I love humanity."

Castiel nodded silently, remembering.

"I love you."

And Castiel knew that everything would be okay after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts? Leave a comment. I really hole you like it. I've never written something like this but I really enjoyed it.
> 
> Ideas? Prompts? Leave a comment.


End file.
